In the Mountains
by JJScottishGirl
Summary: Syd and Gage begin to explore some of their feelings for one another while on a camping trip in the mountains with W & A, T & E but events soon cause the couple to have doubts which they don't explore again until after the trip is over. COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

The horn honked again outside impatiently.

"I'm coming Syd!" Gage yelled out the open window to his partner. "Just give me one more minute!"

Gage looked around his apartment and with a satisfied grin stuffed the last of his equipment into his backpack. He swung the heavily loaded bag onto his back, shut the window, turned off the lights, locked the door and headed down the stairs two at a time. Knowing Syd, if he didn't get down there in the next thirty seconds she'd likely drive off without him.

Fortunately she was still there when he exited the building, though she looked more than slightly annoyed. Gage looked at her sheepishly; he had after kept her waiting for at least an hour while he packed all his gear. Syd had probably had hers ready last week. He slid his backpack into the open hatchback of her all-terrain vehicle, and climbed into the passenger side.

"Thanks for waiting Shorty." He gave a winning smile to his dark haired partner.

"As if I had any choice. Trivette and Erica are expecting us on this trip, and as it is we'll be late but at least we'll be there before dark. Now, are you sure you brought everything you need?"

"Positive. C'mon Syd, I've been camping before – I know what stuff to bring."

Syd forged ahead, she knew what Gage was like when he was in a rush – liable to forget the most important things. "You've got your sleeping bag? Your tent? Your hiking boots?"

"Check! Check! Check! Stop worrying, it's all under control. Now let's go before we miss the first check in point."

Syd shook her head, and put the car into gear. She just knew that Gage had forgotten something and when she found out what she vowed to tease him mercilessly about it.

They drove for about two hours, both in good spirits. It had been a long time since either of them had been away from the city for reasons other than work and they were both excited about it. When Trivette had asked them to join him and his fiancée, and Walker and Alex on this trip to celebrate his engagement to Erica, the young Rangers hadn't thought twice about. What was most amazing was that Captain Brisco had given all 5 of the Company B Rangers the time off together.

At about 3:00 Syd and Gage pulled into the parking lot at the base of the mountain, after having driven down an isolated rugged road for over an hour. There were five other cars in the parking lot, two which they recognized as being Walker's and Trivette's.

"Busy place." Gage commented. "I figured we'd be all alone out here."

"I guess it's probably the last good weekend of fall before the snow starts. Trivette and Erica weren't the only ones to have idea to enjoy it."

"Snow?" Gage countered as they stepped out of the car. "Syd, it's 80 degrees out here, at least. I don't think it's going to snow anytime soon."

"Gage – have you ever been camping in the mountains before?" Syd asked as she popped the trunk and began to assemble her gear.

"Yeah, sure when I was a kid. Before...before my parents died." Gage's voice trailed off as he spoke the last words and he looked off into the woods for a moment, blinking his eyes madly and willing the unbidden tears to disappear. Funny, sometimes he could think about his parents with very little emotion and then other times, like now, he felt almost overwhelmed by the depth of his grief.

Syd looked at her partner and reached over to touch his arm lightly. "I'm sorry Gage. I didn't mean to bring back any bad memories for you."

Gage turned around at Syd's touch and she could see the pain in his eyes, the unshed tears.

"Not bad memories Syd." He smiled, the pained expression on his face vanishing. "Actually, pretty good ones. Every summer we'd go camping, somewhere out here I guess. It was always a lot of fun – I don't remember any one trip in particular, just days spent swimming and fishing and hiking and nights sitting around a campfire. My Dad used to sing John Denver songs and then tell us ghost stories and Julie and I would spend the rest of the night in our tent trying to scare each other."

Syd smiled at Gage, a hint of sadness in her own face. "Sound like fun. We never did anything like that. My Mom was always working, sometimes two or three jobs to support us. My sister and I spent the summers taking care of the house and trying to do as much as we could to make Mom's life easier. And then, when we got old enough we starting working ourselves. I always envied those people on our street who headed out to the woods for the weekend, their trailers in tow. I always felt that for some reason I was destined to be out here, just not at that time."

"We'll here you are now." Gage replied, trying to lighten the mood. He was surprised at Syd's admission. She was usually very close-lipped about her family and her childhood. In fact this was one of the only times he could ever recall her willingly bringing up the subject.

"Yeah." His partner replied, smiling brightly and with her eyes beginning to sparkle. "Here WE are. So, let's go."

Syd put her left foot up on the rear bumper and ensured that her boot was laced tightly, and then did the same with her right foot. Gage followed suit and then they each swung their loaded packs onto their backs and locking the car, headed towards the unmanned check-in station. They added their names to the trail log, noting that it was almost two hours earlier that Walker, Alex, Trivette and Erica had started up the path.

"We're going to have to really hustle it up if we are going to reach the campsite by dark." Syd commented reminding Gage ever so subtly that it was his fault they were late.

"We'll Shorty; I think you're the one who's in trouble. You're going to have to run to keep up with my longer legs." And with that Gage took off at an almost running pace up the first stretch of the trail.

"Oh no you don't!" Syd shouted and took off after him, her competitive spirit kicked into high gear.

They both moved along a good pace for about half an hour, each one taking the lead for a bit until the other one pushed ahead. Finally, laughing they agreed to slow down a bit as the trail was becoming more treacherous and required more attention to their footing.

Syd took the first lead and Gage followed closely behind her. He liked watching her go in front; she had this confident set to her shoulders and look of determination on her face as she successfully navigated the tangled trail of weeds, rocks and tree roots. She stumbled once but Gage was right behind her and he grabbed her backpack, steadying her before she fell outright.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, thanks." She replied, rubbing her ankle.

"You sure Syd? Is your ankle hurting? Here come sit down." He led Syd off the path to a large rock outcrop and he knelt before her, taking her right foot in his hands and massaging her ankle.

"I'm fine Gage." Syd spoke a little impatiently, the way she did whenever anybody fussed over her. "Really. It was just a little argument between my foot and a tree root, I'll be fine. In fact, it feels better already. Let's go."

"Okay." Gage shook his head, he couldn't tell if she was telling him the truth or not. She often pushed herself senselessly, as if to prove a point that she could keep up with him. He knew she could, he wondered why she felt the need to show him all the time. "I'll take the lead for a while."

Syd nodded and took Gage's offered hand to help her stand up, and then she turned and followed him up the trail. Actually her ankle really did hurt and she had to set it down carefully with every step but each time Gage looked around, Syd gave him a bright smile to let him to know that she was fine.

They hiked along for another hour until the ground levelled out somewhat, and they knew that they must be fairly close to the campsite where their friends would be waiting. The smoother ground was easier on Syd's ankle and she was able to keep pace with her partner across the grassy field. They could hear the sound of rushing water in the distance, and when they first caught a whiff of a campfire they grinned at each other.

"Last one there has to make breakfast!" Gage announced and he picked up the pace. With her sore ankle knew she'd never catch up with him so she let him go.

"C'mon Syd, what's the matter? Afraid of a little competition?" he shouted back at her.

"No – I just don't want to eat anything you cook!" she called back, doing her best to look like she was not avoiding pressure on her ankle.

They rounded a jut-out on the trail and suddenly there was the site. Trivette was busy setting up a tent, while Walker was tending to the fire and Alex and Erica were busy preparing some food.

"Hey!" Gage called out. "Just in time for dinner and I am famished."

"What else is new?" Walker replied a grin on his face as he greeted the young ranger.

"Hey, hey! You made it!" Trivette called out. "We were starting to get worried about you. What took so long?"

"Gage." Syd replied, unbuckling her backpack and setting it down on the ground. She immediately went over to Erica and Alex who each gave her a hug. "He was not even close to ready when I came by to pick him up."

"We should have known." Alex replied, looking affectionately at the young man. "Well, at least you got him here before dark."

"My thoughts exactly." Syd said taking a long drink from the canteen of water she had carried with her.

"Well, you two better set up your tents before it's too late to see anything." Walker announced. "We've got everything else under control."

"Yep, it'll probably be about 30 minutes until dinner." Erica stated as she added some pasta to the boiling pot of water over the fire.

Syd and Gage each looked around the site and claimed a flat piece of land for themselves. Syd detached the tent bag from her pack and began to set it up. She was almost finished when she glanced over and saw that Gage had made no progress. In fact he was sitting amid a pile of his stuff – it looked like he had emptied his whole backpack.

"It has to be here!" he was mumbling to himself. "It just has to be."

Syd began to laugh. "Oh my God, Gage. Did you forget your tent?" He glared at her, and she laughed even harder. "Even after I specifically asked you if you had your tent?"

"It must have fallen out on the way up here." He responded, getting annoyed with her laughter.

"Gage, it didn't fall out. We would have seen it. You forgot it, plain and simple."

"I guess I'll just have to share with you."

Syd stopped laughing and spoke almost angrily. "No way Gage. If you did this on purpose just so that you'd have a chance to share a tent with me..." She trailed off, having voiced that she thought that Gage might have feelings for her beyond that of mere partners.

Embarrassed by both what Syd had implied and the fact that he had foolishly forgotten such an essential piece of equipment he retaliated. "Syd, if you think that I would actually want to spend the night next to you in a closed, stuffy tent after a day of hiking in hot, humid weather then you are delusional. In fact, you that is the last place on Earth I would want to be."

Syd looked at Gage standing there among his possessions, and then she looked away speaking in a quieter tone. "Okay Gage, you don't need to be so vocal about how awful it would be to share quarters with me. I'm sorry the idea is so distasteful."

Damn it! Gage thought to himself, watching Syd turn away and then hearing her speak in a hushed tone. He knew he had hurt her with his careless words, spoken out of frustration and embarrassment. The truth was he did have feelings for Syd and the last thing he wanted to do was turn her away from him.

By now though their disagreement had brought the attention of the others in the camp, and as Syd returned to setting up her one-person backpacking tent Trivette entered into the conversation and like Syd before, he was laughing.

"Oh buddy, you are in for one miserable night. Where are you going to sleep?"

"Any chance I could bunk with you?"

Trivette shook his head and pointed to their small two-person tent.

"Walker?"

Alex pointed to their equally small tent.

"Well, I'll just sleep out here under the stars." Gage announced. "It'll be great! At least I didn't forget my sleeping bag." He motioned to the roll of blue at his feet.

Gage gathered up his supplies and re-packed them in his bag as the others returned to their tasks. Yeah, sleeping out under the stars would be fine. He'd just stay real close to the fire and the other tents, and make very sure that all traces of food had been disposed of so as not to attract any bears.

Syd finished setting up her tent and stowed her gear inside. She decided to take back her plan to make fun of her partner about whatever it was that he forgot. She'd teased him about the tent and he had lashed back at her. His words were still ringing in her ears and she felt a sense of loss. Maybe she had misread some of Gage's not-so-hidden signs that he had strong feelings for her. Why did she care so much? After all they were nothing more than friends so why did his outright rejection of the idea of the two of them together hurt so much?

She pulled on a light sweater and rubbed herself with bug repellent and stepped outside her tent. When she stood up and turned around after zipping it up, she practically bumped into Gage. She moved left to avoid walking into him when he lightly grabbed for her arm.

"I'm sorry Syd. I didn't mean to say those things, they aren't true. The idea of sharing quarters with you is not distasteful."

"Okay, apology accepted." Syd wasn't ready to forgive him so easily though. "You're still not going to weasel your way into my tent Gage, it's too small. It's made for one person."

"I'm not apologizing so I have somewhere to sleep Syd! I'm apologizing because I hurt your feelings and I'm sorry."

For the first time, Syd looked up and met his gaze and seeing the sincerity in his eyes she flashed him a smile. "Thanks Gage and I am sorry that I laughed at you. I shouldn't have done that."

"No, you shouldn't have." Her partner replied smugly, relieved that they were back to normal. "So I'd be careful if I was you Syd – I'm on the lookout for you to screw up one day and trust me, I'll be right there to laugh at you."

"I suppose that's only fair." Syd replied as they heard Alex call everyone for dinner.

The group sat on the ground, settled comfortably on blankets and enjoyed the meal prepared by Alex and Erica. As they ate they share stories about their individual treks to the site and the wildlife that they had seen.

"We didn't see anything." Gage commented.

"Probably because of the way you thundered through the forest with your big, clunking boots. You scared everything away." Syd replied, eliciting laughs from the rest of the group.

When they had finished eating Syd and Gage found themselves on clean-up duty, the others having prepared the meal and site. By now it was quite dark and the temperature had dropped significantly, though it was still quite humid.

"Maybe you were right about the snow." Gage said to Syd as she passed him another dish to dry. "Hang on a minute; I need to go put on my sweater."

As Gage returned he noticed that Syd was putting the bulk of the weight on her left foot. When she saw him coming she set her right foot back down and looked away from him, but not before he saw her grimace.

"Is your ankle bothering you Syd?"

"No..."

"You're lying to me!" Gage took the pot out of her hands and dumped it back in the dishwater. "Go sit down right now. Walker! Syd's ankle is hurt, can you come take a look?"

Glaring at her partner, Syd hobbled over to one of the rocks near the campfire.

"What happened Sydney?" Walker asked as he lifted Syd's foot and began to untie the boot laces.

"Nothing, it's just a little sore. I tripped over a root earlier on the way up here and it's tender. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about."

When Walker had gotten her boot off and pulled down her sock, it was obvious that her injury was not 'nothing'. Her ankle was swollen and a deep shade of purple.

"Syd!" Gage exclaimed. "You should have told me how badly you were hurt!"

"What? So you could carry me all the way here and be the hero? I don't think so."

"The hero? Since when have you ever let me treat you like a damsel in distress? I'll have you know that..."

"Enough you two - stop it." Walker interrupted. "Alex, go get one of the chemical ice packs from the first aid kit. Sydney – you really should have told us how badly you were hurt. You're not going to be able to do too much on this ankle for at least a couple of days. Fortunately I don't think it's broken, just badly sprained."

Syd nodded as Walker took the ice-pack from Alex, broke the seal on it and mixed the chemicals to make it icy-cold.

"Now sit here, with your leg raised, for twenty minutes."

"I'm not done doing the dishes."

"Don't worry; I think your partner can manage all on his own." Walker said, motioning to Gage who had returned to the dish pan and was scrubbing the last of the pots.

Walker smiled at her and then returned to his spot by the campfire, wrapping an arm around his wife to keep her warm. Trivette and Erica were cuddling on the other side of the fire, and suddenly Syd felt very left out. She wondered if coming on this trip was such a good idea. First that disagreement with Gage, then the news about her ankle and now she felt like she was intruding on a couples' vacation.

She was sitting close to the fire but Syd still felt a chill go through her body, and she shivered. Almost instantly Gage was behind her, draping a blanket around her shoulders and then settling himself down beside her. The combined warmth from the blanket and the nearness of Gage's body soon stopped Syd's shivers and she smiled up at her partner gratefully.

"Thanks."

"No problem Shorty. Your ankle okay?"

"The ice pack really helped. I guess I should have done something about it earlier. I'm sorry I lied to you on the trail, I just didn't want you to feel responsible for me."

"Syd, you're my partner and my friend. I feel responsible for you 24-7, even when we aren't together. Don't you feel that way about me?"

"Yeah, I do." Syd nodded, thinking about what he said. It hadn't really occurred to her that he might have the same sort of feelings of obligation about her that she had about him. I guess that's one of those things that make us a good team, she thought.

"Okay and I know sometimes I'm a little competitive Syd but I never try to play the hero with you. That's not the kind of person that you are, and I completely respect that."

"I know you do Gage. And if I haven't ever said it - thank you." And Syd reached up and caught Gage in a brief hug. He had only just had time to realize that she was in his arms when suddenly she was gone again, bent over her leg and fussing over the ice pack.

The disappearance of the sudden warmth of her body against his made Gage suddenly shiver himself and he found himself wishing that she could somehow find her way back into his arms again. He watched her working on her ankle and marvelled at all the emotion he had seen from his partner today; it was such a change from her usually reigned-in self. It didn't feel wrong though, just different and he was glad that he had been witness to these expressions. He imagined that there was a lot more to Sydney Cooke than most people knew and he hoped that he'd someday get to be one of those lucky people she let in to know the real her.

Trivette added some more logs to the fire and almost immediately the little group had a roaring bonfire going. Erica started singing, followed quickly by Gage and in next to no time everyone had joined in. They laughed and joked and Syd wondered why she had questioned coming, this was an immense amount of fun. She turned and looked at her partner who was having a glorious time pretending to be John Denver, and when he saw her looking at him he winked and flashed her an enormous grin. Her face lit up with delight at seeing him so happy, glad that he was reliving one of his few happy childhood memories.

Syd radiant smile filled Gage with a joy that he had come to realize only her happiness could give him. He looked down at his partner, wrapped in the blanket and clapping her hands. She was laughing and tossing her hair back, tucking the stray strands behind her ears. She was having a wonderful time, despite their earlier argument and he was happy just to be sitting next to her.

Soon the group slowed down their activities and began to sing some less raucous songs, their voices mirroring the waning intensity of the fire as it burned down. When the last song had been sung Walker began to tell them a story about Hayes Cooper and his early days as a Ranger. As Walker spoke the group listened raptly, as they always did when one of these stories was offered.

As Walker spoke and Gage felt himself almost being transported in time back to the days of Hayes Cooper, he became aware of a sudden warmth on his side. Looking down he saw that Syd had moved over close to him and was resting her head on his shoulder as she listened.

"Do you mind?" he heard her whisper to him.

"No." he whispered back, and he felt her arms snake around his as she settled in to hear the tale.

Walker finished his story just as the last log broke apart into embers, and after a few moments of silence Alex finally stood up.

"Well, good-night everyone. I think its time for bed."

"Good idea Alex." Erica added. "I think it's all this fresh air, I'm quite sleepy."

"Me too." Syd murmured as she lifted her head from Gage's shoulder, the closeness of the young Rangers not going unnoticed by the female members of their 'family'. "Will you help me up, please Gage?"

Gage stood, stretching as he did so and, feeling the cool in the air now that that fire had died down, silently lamented once again that he had forgotten his tent. For the life of him he couldn't think where it was, he was sure that he had packed it. He reached an arm down to Syd and helped her stand up, careful not to put undo pressure on her injured ankle. Gage walked around to her side and put an arm under hers, helping her to more or less hop over to her tent.

Once there Syd bent down and unzipped the door, and rather unceremoniously plopped down inside.

"Thank you Gage. Good night." Syd looked up at her partner, and then mischievously added before zipping the tent closed. "Enjoy the stars."

"Oh I will!" Gage called back to her as he fetched his backpack and began to lay his stuff out in front of her tent, and then repeated her comment to himself as a mutter while he unrolled his sleeping bag.

Syd got undressed in the tent and listened to Gage getting settled outside. She did actually feel sorry for him; she wouldn't want to sleep outside. She knew her tent was only a thin sheet of nylon but somehow it felt like a safe haven away from the elements and the animals.

"Good night Gage." She called to him softly as she tucked her feet into her sleeping bag.

"Good night Syd." He called back, smiling as he thought about her head resting on his shoulder during Walker's story. "Sleep tight."

"You too." She replied, no hint of teasing in her voice this time at all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Sometime that night Syd was awakened by the sound of scratching on the outside of her tent and slowly Gage's voice penetrated her semi-conscious state.

"Syd let me in - please. It's starting to rain out here."

As Syd woke up she began to hear the soft pitter-patter of rain drops hitting the roof of her tent, and she scooted out of her bedroll and unzipped the door. Gage threw his backpack in, followed by his sleeping back and finally jammed his bulky frame inside the tiny tent, zipping the door shut behind him. Syd sat back on her sleeping bag, turned on her flashlight and watched him cram her tiny tent full of his stuff.

When he was finished Gage sat down on top of his backpack and looked at Syd, who was giggling.

"Where are you planning on sleeping Gage? There is hardly any room in here to move, never mind sleep."

"You're right, it really is tiny." Gage replied, looking around. "But thank you for letting me in Syd."

As he spoke the rain started coming down even harder and they looked at each and smiled.

"You're welcome; I'll think you find it's not all that bad to share quarters with me."

Gage looked down at his partner and for the first time realized that she was clad only in a pair of white underwear and tank top. She was sitting crossed-legged on her open sleeping bag with her tangle of sleep mussed hair falling down to her shoulders. She looked incredibly desirable and in a husky voice that Gage barely recognized as his own he heard himself say,

"It's not bad at all Syd."

She looked up at him in surprise and swallowed hard, the tent suddenly feeling very closed in and stuffy. She looked away from his intense gaze and stammered, "Umm, let's see what we can do to make some more room in here."

Shaking his head in disbelief that he had just been so forward with his partner, Gage stood up from his backpack as best he could in the small tent. Finding it easier to work on his knees, Gage suggested that they pile their backpacks together vertically at the foot of the tent and put all the excess materials on top in order to maximize their horizontal space. Within a matter of minutes the tent was as compact as it was going to be, and Gage had laid his sleeping bag down next to Syd's. It was a tight squeeze but the two bags did fit side by side.

When they were done Syd sat back down on her sleeping bag and Gage sat down on his across from her. It was hot and stuffy in the tent meant only for one, crammed full of two people and their gear, with the added problem of rain falling outside. Gage pulled off his damp shirt, wet from a mixture of sweat and rain, and looked over at his partner when he heard her softly gasp.

He froze as Syd reached towards him, her fingers lightly tracing the diagonal scars across his chest.

"Is this from the bear?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah."

"God Gage, it must have been awful. These scars are huge." She was sitting so close to him that he could feel her warm breath on his neck as she spoke.

He looked down at her, his hand reaching down to capture hers she caressed his long-since healed wounds. She looked up at him and when his blue eyes met her dark ones it was as if an electric spark ignited between them. Gage tilted his head down slightly and lowered his lips to hers. Tender and questioning at first the kiss soon became fervent, each exploring the other's mouth with a force neither knew they possessed.

Syd's sat up on her knees while her hands roved over Gage's chest and shoulders, and he reached his up to her face and her neck holding her close to him. When his hand finally strayed to her shoulder and began to tug down the strap of her tank top, Syd pulled back and ended the kiss.

They stared at each other, breathing heavily, the air in the tent still electrically charged.

"Gage, we can't." Syd finally managed to speak; stunned by the intensity of the passion they had just shared.

"No?" He managed to answer back - his breath husky, his eyes confused.

"No - not here, not now."

"You're not angry?"

"Angry? Do I look angry? I...Gage, that was incredible."

"You're incredible Syd. Have I ever told you that?" Gage reached over and cupped her cheek with his hand. "You are incredible and beautiful and absolutely intoxicating. I can't tell you how long I have wanted to kiss you like that."

"Why didn't you then?"

"Syd, I asked you once about that kiss you gave me after Walker and Alex's wedding and you shut me out. I figured this was something you didn't want."

"You were wrong." Syd leaned forward again and kissed him lightly. Then she turned out the flashlight and pulled her sleeping bag up around her. "Good night Gage."

As soon as Gage had settled down in his bag, Syd snuggled close to him and laid her head on his chest. Gage was asleep within minutes but Syd stayed awake for a long, long time.

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When Gage woke in the morning Syd was still sleeping soundly, though she had long since moved out of his arms and was curled up in a tight ball facing the tent wall. He did the best job he could in the confined quarters to get dressed without disturbing her, and when he stepped out of the tent he was relieved to see that it was no longer raining.

"Hey, we thought you'd been eaten up by a wolf during the night." Trivette joked. 'Though we wondered why he'd taken all your gear too."

"Very funny Trivette."

"So you somehow convinced Sydney to let you in there hey?" Walker asked.

"It was raining! I had nowhere else to go!"

"Sure it was raining. Does it look like it was raining to you Walker?"

"No Trivette, it sure doesn't look like it rained to me."

"It WAS raining!" Gage protested. "You don't think that I would actually make up something like that do you? I was getting wet!"

"Gage, they're teasing you. We all heard the rain last night." Alex interjected. "C'mon, go have a cup of my coffee – I promise it's the best coffee you'll ever have out camping."

"Is Sydney still sleeping?" Erica asked Gage as he bent over the fire to reach for the coffee pot.

"Yeah, it was pretty cramped in there, she's probably just enjoying the tent to herself again."

"Everything okay between you two?" Erica pushed, and much to Gage's chagrin he blushed.

"Yeah, fine. Why do you ask?"

"I noticed some tension last night. I just want to make sure that we all have a good time, this trip means a lot to Jimmy"

"Thanks Erica. I promise - everything is fine between Syd and me."

"Good." Erica turned to the rest of the group. "Now, who's up for eggs?"

"I am!" Gage heard Syd call from the door of her tent. He put down his coffee and practically sprinted over to her side to help her up. She allowed him to help her up and even hobble over to a rock near the fire, but she wouldn't meet his gaze.

He brought her a cup of coffee and crouching down to give it to her, tried to get her to look at him.

"Syd, look at me."

"No." She shook her head.

"Why not?" His voice was disbelieving.

"Last night was a mistake Gage; I shouldn't have let that happen."

"Syd, you don't need to be embarrassed – it's just me."

"It's not about being embarrassed Gage. It was a mistake that's all, we got caught up in the heat and the closeness of the tent and it wasn't real so let's just forget about it, okay?"

"Not real? Forget about it?" Gage felt as if she had dumped ice water all over him and then kicked him to boot. "What game are you playing at Syd? It felt real to me and I am not about to forget it." He dumped his coffee out on the ground and stormed away from her.

Everyone watched as Gage marched off to the other side of the campsite and picked up a stick and hurled it far into the woods. He then trudged into the woods after it. Looking back they saw that Sydney had buried her head in her hands, her cup of coffee left untouched by her side.

"I knew something was wrong." Erica said to Alex.

"I think you're right Erica, there is something going on between them." Alex commented to her friend. "I thought you were crazy when you mentioned the idea to me, but that looked a lot more like a lover's quarrel than a disagreement between partners."

"Gage and Sydney?" Walker and Trivette both asked incredulously as they listened to their wife and fiancée talk.

"No, they're just good friends." Trivette added.

"Good partners." Walker interjected.

"Are you two blind?" Erica asked good-naturedly. "Have you seen the way Gage stares at her? And the way Sydney lights up when he smiles at her? Have you seen how they argue with one another? Heated passion like that is not an element of mere friendship or partnership."

"Wow." Trivette commented, suddenly introspective. "I really never thought about this before."

"Probably because it's not any of our business." Walker said quietly. "Let's leave them alone to work out WHATEVER this problem is."

"Are you sure that's wise?" Erica asked. "I mean, look at Sydney over there. She looks miserable."

"I do know that Gage and Sydney are adults and unless their problems start affecting us in a major way then we should let them be."

"Okay." Each of the three others agreed to let the young couple sort out their problem, though it was obvious that both Alex and Erica were loathe to do so.

A few minutes later when Alex approached the fire to heat the frying pan, Syd was sitting up straight and sipping on her coffee, her expression unreadable.

"How's your ankle today?"

"Still pretty sore - I think I messed up royally by not treating it earlier yesterday. I was just so sure that it was nothing."

"Do you need another ice pack on it?"

"I hate to use another ice-pack, what if we need it later for another injury? Maybe I could just soak it in a pan of cold water."

"That's a good idea Sydney. I'll just go get the dish-pan and we can fill it up with some of that nice cold mountain water running down the waterfall."

"You don't mind?"

"Don't be silly."

"I just feel so useless sitting around here."

"Don't worry; as soon as that pan is hot enough you can fry up eggs and bacon to your hearts content."

"Thanks Alex."

"What are friends for?"

When Gage returned to the site he had calmed down a bit but he was still confused and hurt. Did Syd really think that what they had shared was not real? His feelings for her were very real. He had kept putting them off, shoving them to the back of his mind when he thought that Syd didn't feel the same way. But the way she had kissed him last night – the passion in her lips, her tongue, the fire from the tips of her fingers...that was not simply the response of someone overheated in close quarters.

No, something had gone wrong in Syd's thought processes between the kiss and the morning and he was determined to find out what and set it right. He refused to let her push him away. She had done that yesterday with her ankle and look where that had gotten her? She was going to be stuck at the camp while everyone else went out and had a good time. And now that he had experienced such an incredible awakening of his spirit when Syd's lips had been on his, there was no way he was simply going to let that go just because she was unwilling or afraid to give them a chance. But for now, he was still angry.

Gage sullenly ate his breakfast which Alex had kindly set aside for him. He completely avoided looking at his partner and when Walker suggested that they go for a hike, Gage was the first one to grab his day pack and agree that getting way from the site for awhile was a good idea.

Syd watched Gage purposely ignoring her and she felt terrible that she had said those things to Gage; she knew they would hurt him because she was all too aware that he had feelings for her. But it was her own emotions she had to think about and allowing herself to care for Gage was something she was just not ready for. She wasn't sure if she'd ever be ready. No, allowing something to happen between her and Gage would be a big mistake.

"Are you sure you'll be alright here by yourself Sydney?" Walker asked as the group packed up to go.

"I'll be fine, really. In fact, I think I could really use some alone time."

"Okay, I think we'll be gone most of the day but we'll definitely be back before dark. Here, just in case we aren't back let me show you the route we'll be taking." As Walker showed Syd the trail on the park map, Gage rather impatiently started towards the head of the trail.

"Okay guys, have a good time." Syd called to her friends, almost willing Gage to at least turn around and wave at her but he didn't.

"You too Sydney." Alex stooped down to give her friend a quick hug and whispered in her ear. "Don't worry, we'll make sure Gage loses his grumpiness somewhere down in a deep, deep valley."

Syd smiled wryly at her friend, she knew that wasn't likely to happen but appreciated the sentiment. After they were gone Syd hobbled over to her tent, retrieved a book and was soon engrossed in the newest murder-mystery novel by her favourite author.

She was about four chapters into it when three men entered the site from the trail that led north.

"Well, look at what we have here." One of them commented loudly.

"A pretty young lady, all alone." A second one added. "Where are your friends, honey?"

Syd put down her book; these guys were looking for trouble. It was in their tone of voice, their stance, their leering looks. Silently cursing that she was injured she looked around quickly for something to use to defend herself. If her ankle wasn't in such bad shape she knew that she'd be able to take on all three of them.

"Can I help you gentlemen with anything?" Syd stood up, standing firmly on her sore ankle so as not o let the intruders know about her injury.

"Well now, I believe you can. What do you think boys?" The largest of the three men answered. "You sure are a pretty little thing and you look awfully lonely with your friends all gone. And well, we've been up here a long time and we're pretty lonely ourselves. We were thinking it would be nice for you to come and join us for a little fun."

"I don't think so boys." Syd responded, suddenly brandishing a large stick from beside the fire and holding it in front of her. "You see, I'm actually not very lonely at all."

Syd swung the branch at the largest of the men as he moved forward to grab her. She was able to hit him, knocking him to his knees. She turned to her left as another of the men moved around and lunged at her. Trying to swing her good leg up to catch him in the neck her injured ankle suddenly gave out and she fell backwards, banging her head on one of the large rocks near the campfire.

The men were all suddenly all around her and she couldn't fight them off. One of them swung her up and over his shoulders, carrying her with as much grace as one would carry a large sack of potatoes. She yelled and pounded on his back but to no avail; all she could hear was the roar of the nearby waterfall and the laughter of the men who had captured her. As they headed up the trail and away from her site Syd began to feel woozy and before she knew it had mercifully passed out.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Late in the afternoon when the group of hikers returned to their campsite they were in good spirits. It had been a fun day and they had seen some beautiful scenery, caught some fresh fish for dinner and even Gage was in a much better mood. When they rounded the trail and their tents came into view there was no sign of Syd.

"Syd! We're home!" Erica called, a bit concerned when they didn't see her but confident that she was probably just relaxing inside her tent.

"And we've got dinner!" Trivette called, pleased with the load of fish he had secured that afternoon.

When they received no answer, Alex suggested that maybe Syd was asleep and headed over to Syd's tent. She knocked softly on the door, calling to her friend and then unzipping it slowly when she heard nothing in response.

"Walker, she's not here!" Alex called out, alarmed.

"There's been a struggle. Human, not animal." Walker observed, his calm exterior belying the worry he felt inside. "There are scuffmarks all around the fire, a book is lying haphazardly here in the dirt and there is dried blood on this rock. It looks to me like she was attacked and then carried off in that direction." He pointed to the trail leading up the mountain.

Gage felt his stomach twist in knots and a vice-like pain settle over his heart as he heard what was going on. Oh my god, he had left Syd here injured and unprotected. All because he was angry with her – under normal circumstances he would never, ever have left her alone. If anything had happened to her he...

"Let's go." Trivette called, his fish forgotten as his Ranger training kicked in. He slapped Gage on the back to shake him from the stupor he seemed to be in and ran towards the trail Walker was pointing at.

"Alex, you and Erica stay here. Light a fire, boil water and get medical supplies ready. If anything happens yell and scream as loud as you can and then set off the flare gun. Okay?"

"Yes, Walker – please be careful." his wife replied. "I love you."

"I love you too." He kissed her on the lips and ran to the trail head.

The three Rangers headed up the mountain trail in the fast-fading light of day, the scope of their vision reduced further by the thick forest of trees. Gage could feel his heart pounding in his ears as he followed Walker and Trivette. He just kept thinking about the blood that they had found. Was it already too late? Oh Syd – I am so sorry.

It was almost an hour before the team came upon the nearest campsite. Three men were sitting around a roaring campfire, clearly intoxicated and chatting loudly with one another. There was no sign of Sydney but as the Rangers listened to their conversation it was clear that these were the culprits.

"When it's my turn..." One of the men began. "I'm going to show that little bitch just who's boss around here." He made a vulgar gesture with his groin and his comrades laughed.

"Well, I already sampled the wares boys and let me tell you, she's one sweet little thing." The largest of the men boasted and Gage felt sick to his stomach. Walker and Trivette had to hold Gage back to prevent him from charging into the site then and there.

"Gage, focus." Walker spoke sternly. "Storming in there without a plan will not help your partner. Now, they keep gesturing to that small tent over so I bet that's where they are holding Sydney. Trivette – you and I will take on these guys, Gage you slip silently around the back and get her out. Just take off as soon as you get her, don't worry about us. We'll follow when we're finished with this bunch."

Gage nodded, as did Trivette.

"Okay, on the count of three. Ready? One, two, three." Walker and Trivette burst from the bushes and into the middle of the campsite yelling "Texas Rangers!" and were immediately engaged in hand to hand combat with the three men. Strengthened by the element of surprise and lack of alcohol in their systems the two Rangers had the upper hand but were still required to fight a fierce battle.

Gage lost sight of what his colleagues were doing as he ran around the back of the tent and using a pocket-knife easily sliced through the nylon fabric. It was dim in the tent, only a faint light from the bonfire penetrating the walls, but he could see Syd lying there on the floor curled in a fetal position with her hands and feet bound. He called her name lightly so as not to frighten her.

"Syd...Syd..." He shook her gently, his fingers cold with fear.

Gage felt his heart breaking as she cried out meekly, "No, please...please don't!"

"Syd, honey – it's me, Gage. I'm not going to hurt you; I'm just going to take you away from here."

Syd's eyes opened slowly in disbelief, everything in her body hurt. If not for the pain she would be sure that she was dreaming again. "G..G..Gage?"

"Yes...shh, it's okay now. I'm just going to cut through these ropes and then carry you out of here, okay?"

"Okay." Her voice was timid, like that of a small frightened child. Gage cut the ropes that bound her limbs together and gathered her tenderly in his arms, exiting the tent through the hole he had slashed in the back.

Vaguely cogniscent of the fact that he could still hear a fight between the Rangers and Syd's attackers going on in the main part of the site, he headed off into the pitch black woods blindly, carrying his precious cargo. Gage wasn't sure where he was heading and after several minutes of wandering blindly in the dark he decided to stop and get his bearings. He carefully set Syd down on the ground beside the base of a large tree.

"I'm going to be right back Syd; I just need to find the trail again." And he slipped away through the trees vainly searching for well-worn ground that would indicate a path.

When he returned moments later he could hear Syd crying. She flung her arms around his neck as he sat down beside her and she clung to him desperately.

"Please don't leave me again Gage." She sobbed. "I'm sorry for those things I said this morning, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean them - I love you. Please don't leave me."

Gage gathered his trembling partner in his arms and held her as close to him as humanly possible, her tears tearing his heart into shreds.

"Shh Syd, shh - its okay. I'm not going to leave you. I love you too, I love you too." He rocked her lovingly back and forth in his embrace, his hands smoothing her hair, caressing her back. He could feel a large lump on the back of her head and his fingers got stuck in a messy clump of what he presumed was drying blood.

After a few minutes her sobs subsided, though she continued to cling to him with all the strength she could muster. Syd's head hurt and her ankle was throbbing and she wasn't sure if this was real. Was she really securely tucked in Gage's arms listening to him tell her over and over again that he loved her? Deciding she didn't care if this was real or not, it was what she needed to get past the horror of the day, Syd slowly gave into the exhaustion that she felt and passed out in her partner's arms.

Gage wasn't sure if she was asleep or if she had passed out, but it didn't matter to him. He was just relieved that she was safe and in his arms and that her crying had stopped. With a tear trickling down his own cheek for the pain and fear she must have suffered at the hands of those brutes, he eased her body gently into a more comfortable position in his lap and sat still, unsure what to do next.

About fifteen minutes later he saw a small light heading through the woods towards him. He sat flat back against the tree unwilling to call out in case it was unwanted company.

"Gage? Gage!" he finally heard being called as the light got brighter.

"Walker?"

"Gage! Where are you?"

"Over here." He stood up with Syd cradled in his arms. "I got lost in the darkness and figured it was best to stay put."

"Wise move. You okay? Syd?" Trivette asked shining the flashlight onto the female Ranger's sleeping form.

"Pretty messed up guys, I don't know what they did to her." It was hard for Gage to speak, tears of his own frustration and guilt choking his voice. "She passed out about fifteen minutes ago and I didn't want to wake her, she was so exhausted. But she's got a lump on the back of her head and I think there's blood there too."

"Okay." Walker spoke. "Are you up to carrying her Gage? Let's head back to our site and take a look at her. Trivette, you lead the way and I'll pull up the rear."

Jimmy turned the flashlight back towards the path a few feet from where Gage had been resting and began to direct the team back down the mountain.

"What happened to the guys?" Gage finally asked.

"Out cold and tied up." Trivette turned around grinning, sobering when he remembered that it was Syd who was lying limply in Gage's arms. "They won't be going anywhere soon."

"We'll go find the park ranger in the morning and get them hauled out of here." Walker added. "We'll see if we can get medical help for Sydney too, send for a medi-chopper. It's just too dark and dangerous on the trails to do anything tonight."

Gage nodded, inwardly praying that the only medication attention Syd would need would be for her head and ankle - he couldn't bear to think that any of those men had touched her or violated her. If they had he doubted that even Walker could stop him from seeking vengeance.

The group walked back to the campsite in silence, the only noise the steady sound of their feet navigating the uneven terrain. Every so often Syd would stir in his arms and make a whimpering noise but Gage whispered 'It's okay – I've got you' in her ear and she would settle back down.

As they neared their campsite the bright glow of a roaring fire met them warmly through the trees. It was welcoming and inviting, whereas the fire belonging to the three men had seemed harsh and evil.

"Oh thank god!" Alex and Erica came running to embrace their men, stopping short when they saw Syd unconscious in Gage's arms.

"Sydney's hurt." Walker announced. "Let's lay her down by the fire."

Erica spread out one of the campfire blankets and Alex folded a second one into a pillow. Gage gently lay Syd down and then sat down beside her, unwilling to leave her side. Trivette collected a canteen of water and the first aid kit that had been readied and handed them to Walker who was doing an external evaluation of Syd's injuries.

"It's a bad bump on her head, and you're right Gage there is a sticky mass there. My guess is that she somehow fell against the rock here at the site – the one we found blood on. I think we should wake her up, she may have a concussion and we don't want to risk her falling into a coma."

Gage tenderly stroked Syd's cheek with the back of his fingers. "Syd..Syd...wake up please. C'mon Syd, open your eyes. We want to make sure that you're okay."

Syd stirred a bit, her eyes closed tightly as if she were unwilling to open them – afraid of what she might see.

"Syd – it's me, Gage – your partner. Walker and Trivette are here too, so are Alex and Erica. We're all here and you're safe, no-one is going to hurt you. Open your eyes Syd, please?"

Slowly Syd opened her eyes and looked up at the group crouched around her. Their faces were kind and encouraging, smiling as she came-to. Her eyes lit upon Gage's – dark with a myriad of emotions, but he too smiled as she tried to sit up.

"Here." Gage stretched one arm around her back and helped her to sit up, placing her between his legs. She flinched momentarily at his touch and then melted back against him, letting his body support her entire weight.

"Water?" Syd asked, her voice scratchy but no longer meek. Walker immediately passed Gage the canteen and he held it to her lips, allowing her to drink in small sips until she had had her fill.

"Can I take a look at the back of your head Sydney?" Walker asked, moving around behind her and Gage with the flashlight to get a better look. "Do you remember what happened?"

"I was sitting here quietly reading my book; you guys had only been gone about an hour when these three guys came out of nowhere. I tried to fight them off but my sore ankle gave out and I fell back – I think I hit my head on a rock. I felt so dizzy and they were carrying me away and..I...I..don't remember much else until later. I woke up and I was in a tent and I couldn't move and one of them was..." her voice dropped to a whisper "...he was touching me..."

Syd felt Gage tighten his grip around her almost ferociously and his breathing become laboured while Alex and Erica both looked away in horror. Trivette looked grim and Walker's voice was strained as he moved around to her front again.

"You don't have to tell us anymore."

"I don't remember anything more." Syd's voice had regained some of its strength. "I think I must have passed out again. I felt so helpless - I was tied up and I didn't know how I'd get out of there and if I did where to go or how I could walk, my ankle hurts even more than it did before."

Walker moved down to Syd's ankle and began to remove her shoe.

"Are you hungry Sydney?" Alex asked as her husband look at Syd's foot. "I bet you haven't eaten since this morning."

"Not really."

"I think you better eat something anyways, okay? You need to keep your strength up - we'll go get you something." She and Erica headed over to the food bag that was hanging high in the tree.

"Thanks." Syd tried to smile at her friend, yelping in pain as Walker pushed on one part of her ankle. "Arrrgg!"

"It looks like your ankle is broken now Sydney. The way you described falling and the injury I see here is consistent with a break. I'm going to put a splint on it and immobilize it. We'll call for a medi-chopper tomorrow to fly you out of here but for now we have to make sure it doesn't receive any more damage or it may never heal correctly. Umm..is there anywhere else that hurts or that needs umm..medical attention?"

Syd understood what Walker was trying to ask and if it weren't so serious a question she'd laugh at how uncomfortable her usually confident boss was asking it. The men had touched her and she didn't think she'd ever forget the feeling of their dirty hands on her but fortunately they hadn't actually forced themselves on her. She imagined that her friends had arrived just in time – the men had left no doubts about their intentions for her.

Syd shook her head and felt Gage visibly relax his grip on her. Her partner hadn't said anything to her since helping her to sit up but she took comfort in his solid strength behind her. She had often thought about how wonderful it must feel to be in Gage's powerful arms; it was regrettable that such a bad turn of events is what had led to this finally happening. She knew that Gage was her friend and her partner and that he'd support her through this but to hope that there could really be something more between them seemed like a fantasy. For now though she'd take comfort in his arms and deal with her other emotions later.

"Trivette – we need some short, solid sticks and two of the triangular bandages from the first aid kit."

"Got it." Trivette was back in a moment, having selected some sticks from their kindling pile and pulling the bandages from the kit.

Walker pulled Syd's sock back on and over her swollen ankle to protect it and together he and Trivette stabilized her ankle.

"Now if we can just put something else over-top, like a large sock, we can really hold it in place."

"Take mine." In an instant Gage was kicking one of his boots off and wiggling his foot in Trivette's face.

"You want me to touch that?" Trivette asked, looking at Gage's foot with disdain.

"Oh for Pete's sake." Walker muttered, pulling Gage's sock off and sliding it gently over Syd's makeshift splint. "Perfect."

"Wow." Syd commented, trying to lighten the mood in the camp and ease the weight of the thoughts on her mind. Hiding behind a veil of teasing was something she knew how to do well and she sought refuge in that now. "Who knew that your big feet would come in handy one day Gage?"

Trivette grinned at Syd – she'd be alright, already she was back slinging jokes at her partner. Walker couldn't help but smile too. And Gage, despite himself, groaned.

"Oh, Syd."

Trivette and Walker stood up, walking over to Erica and Alex and leaving Syd and Gage alone by the fire. Syd immediately turned and looked up at her handsome partner, his arms still wrapped loosely around her.

"Gage?" Her voice was tentative, questioning.

"Yeah Syd?"

"Thanks for coming to get me." Her eyes met his, each filled with a million unanswered questions. Syd was the first to look away.

"You're welcome." He tightened his arms around her in a hug and then let her go. He wanted to hold onto her forever but was afraid that doing so might make her feel smothered. The last thing he wanted to do was seem like he was being overly-protective. He recognized and loved Syd's independent spirit – it was one of her most attractive qualities. If there was ever going to be something between them he would need to allow her that freedom.

Gage shifted out from behind her and helped her to ease back so that she was resting against a rock. As he was doing so Alex brought over a plate of food and sat down beside Syd.

"Here you are hon. I know you're not hungry but it really will help if you eat." Alex motioned to an apple. "Eat that and I'll be happy."

"I...umm...I'll just go get some food myself if you ladies don't mind." Gage looked down at them and saw Syd resting her head on her friend's shoulder, so he headed towards Walker and Trivette. Gage had been around enough women to know that sometimes they need to talk to another woman, just like sometimes men needed to talk to men. This was one of those times for both of them.

Erica headed over to Syd and Alex, dropping another log on the fire as she went. The angst of the evening now over the male Rangers were all quite hungry and they tore into the quick and easy no-cook food like fruit leather, trail mix and even a can of cold beans.

"Is she really going to be okay Walker?" Gage asked, looking at the senior Ranger for some guidance.

"I'm not an expert but I think her physical wounds will heal, I just hope that we caught the ankle in time. As for emotionally though Gage, I imagine you're the best one of us to answer that question."

"What? Why would you say that?" Gage could feel the heat rising to his cheeks. Surely his affection for his Syd was not that obvious.

"Well, she's your partner."

"Oh...yeah...my partner. I guess that does make us pretty close."

"If there's more to it than that, it's okay you know Gage."

Gage looked away from Walker and Trivette, his eyes coming to rest on his partner. It looked like she was crying again; Erica was offering her a tissue.

"It is?" he finally asked, his eyes still on Syd.

"Yeah." Walker laid a hand on Gage's shoulder. "It is."

"We understand buddy." Trivette patted Gage on his other shoulder, moving to stand beside him so that all three men were looking at all three women. "We understand."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Alex stood up and walked towards the men, leaving Syd in Erica's care. She was slowly making her way through half a granola bar and her friends were pleased that she was eating something.

"Walker – I'm going to spend the night with Sydney, okay?"

"Of course Alex, if that's what she needs." He pulled his wife close for a hug. "I'll miss you though."

"I guess I get to bunk with you then!" Gage tried to speak brightly and keep the hurt he felt inside. He had assumed that he would share the tent with Syd again, hold her in his arms, and maybe even rock her to sleep. But apparently Syd did not want him there and he felt some of the hope inside him die that they could ever be more than partners. If she couldn't lean on him now after all that she had been through...well, that spoke volumes about her opinion of him. He must have just been fooling himself to ever think that they would have a future. Syd was just far too independent a person to ever give of herself that which is needed to start, never mind maintain, a relationship.

Walker looked at Gage seriously. "Why would you think that? It's not raining out tonight."

"Oh." Gage looked stunned and then Walker grinned at him.

"Of course you can bunk with me Gage."

"Thanks, sleeping out under the stars wasn't all it was cracked up to be. I'll go get my stuff."

Syd watched Gage go over to her tent and start to remove his stuff. She could see by his body language that he was reluctant to do it; maybe even hurt that she had asked Alex to stay with her. She knew that given a choice Gage would have stayed there to protect her. She didn't want protecting right now though; her moments of weakness were over. She needed to prove to everyone, including herself, that she could face this challenge alone. Having a friend stay at your side was one thing; to have the man who makes you feel so safe that you never want to leave his arms was quite another. She was one of only two female Rangers on the force, and she could not afford to wrap herself in that kind of safety net. If she did she might instantly lose all the ground that she had ever gained for the equality of women in law enforcement. And maybe, just maybe, she was terrified to admit that strong, independent, tough Sydney Cooke was in love with her partner.

Gage looked over at Syd as he walked by, carrying his stuff to Walker's tent. He purposely looked away when she turned her head to meet his gaze. Syd clenched her fists in frustration. He _was_ hurt and probably angry again too. He didn't deserve to be treated like this and she knew it. Gage was caring and gentle and had done nothing but be concerned about her, even after she had been so awful to him this morning. What was done was done though and Syd didn't know how to make it better, how to tell him how sorry she was without baring her whole scared soul. How could she tell him that what she felt for him sometimes woke her up at night, overwhelming her with the depth of her emotions – threatening to envelope her entire being?

Gage helped Alex to move some of her stuff and then he set about extinguishing the fire, morosely thinking to himself that the light and heat from this fire were going out as quickly as the spark that had been lit between he and Syd earlier this weekend. He poked at the embers with a vengeance creating clouds of black smoke which had his friends coughing. Trivette gave Gage a questioning look as Erica struggled to help Syd up and the young Ranger completely ignored them, then he leapt forward to help his fiancée take their injured friend over to her tent. They wished Syd and Alex good night and then headed arm in arm to their own tent.

Walker stopped by the door of Syd's tent, kissing his wife goodnight and assuring Syd that at first light he'd be down the trail to contact the Park Rangers.

When he was the only one left in the site who had yet to head to bed, Gage swallowed hard and in his best 'I couldn't possibly be hurt because I'm only your partner' voice he called out "Goodnight!" and headed over to his new quarters.

"Goodnight!" He heard Trivette and Erica chime together as the light went off in their tent.

"Goodnight honey." Alex called to him from Syd's tent just as she was zipping up the door. He could see that Syd was looking away from him and she made no effort to respond. 'Fine! Fine! Whatever, I don't care.' he thought to himself as he stepped into Walker's tent.

About five minutes later, when the lights were all off and the site was quiet, a small voice quite unlike that of the Sydney Cooke that they all knew, called out into the darkness.

"Goodnight Gage."

It was so faint that Gage wasn't even sure that he had heard it and thought that maybe he was even dreaming it. Still, after that he was able to drift into a silent, albeit restless, sleep.

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True to his word Walker was up at first light, getting ready so quietly and effortlessly that he didn't even disturb Gage despite the confines of their small tent. Trivette got up just as Walker was getting ready to leave.

"You okay going by yourself?"

"Under different circumstances I wouldn't but I think that you and Gage need to stay here. Sydney's in no condition to defend herself and neither Alex nor Erica are experienced enough on the trails if something should happen."

"Okay, but if you're not back in three hours I'm starting a search party. And you take the flare gun. Deal?"

"Deal. See you later Trivette."

"Okay Walker." Trivette started the fire and got a pot of coffee underway. Soon his fiancée emerged from their tent, followed by Alex and then Gage. Syd was still sleeping, though she was fine Alex assured everyone, just tired and in pain. With her head injury she'd been unable to take any pain medication so the throbbing of her ankle and head had kept her awake much of the night.

Breakfast was almost ready when Syd appeared at the door of her tent and Gage had to restrain himself from running towards her and sweeping her up in his arms. To channel his energy in a direction that would at least be rewarded he mumbled something about needing to find more firewood and he marched off into the woods, leaving Alex to help Syd up and over to the fire.

"What's the matter with Gage?" Trivette asked Erica, starting to get annoyed with the junior Ranger. Just last night Gage had practically admitted to him and Walker that his relationship with Syd went beyond that of good friends and yet here the fool was ignoring his injured partner completely.

"My guess? Gage is hurt by the fact that Sydney didn't want him to stay with her last night."

"Oh."

"I think Gage is a pretty sensitive guy under all those muscles and charming good looks."

"And Sydney is not a very sensitive person at all – she'd slug him before she'd let him get all emotional on her."

"I think you're wrong Jimmy, not about the slugging – I can see that. But just because Sydney is a very private person doesn't mean that she's not sensitive. If anything I think much of her bravado comes from hiding that sensitivity, particularly when she's around men and especially around Gage."

"Wow, you've really given this a lot of thought."

"They're your friends Jimmy and they are fast becoming mine. And besides, I'm a romantic at heart. Knowing how happy we are, seeing Walker and Alex so fulfilled – I want the same things for Sydney and Gage, don't you?"

"Of course but you sure you're not just projecting your romantic ideas on those two?"

"Pretty sure, but I do think they have a long way to go still."

"It took Walker and Alex seven years to finally recognize and make a commitment to one another."

"And look at you and I? What do they say – the course of true love never did run smooth? I'd actually be more concerned for your friends if they had fallen hard and fast for one another, it probably would have led to a nasty break-up and tension in the department – probably the end of their partnership."

Trivette watched Gage come back to site and drop off his load of firewood, then sit down on the opposite side of the ring from Syd and focus on his cup of coffee.

"And this is much better?"

"You'll see. If it's meant to be they'll find a way to make it work." Erica smiled up at him. "Just like we did."

Trivette leaned down to kiss Erica just as Alex called out that breakfast was ready. The happy couple joined their friends and enjoyed a delicious meal. The group was reasonably happy today and they conversed about all sorts of things from the weather to when Trivette and Erica were planning on having kids. Everyone joined into the conversation and only the keenest of observers would have noticed that Sydney and Gage, while talking to everyone around them, managed to avoid each other completely.

It wasn't long after breakfast and just as they were finishing tidying up that Walker returned up the mountain, two Park Rangers in tow. Trivette's shoulders visibly relaxed as his partner came into view.

"Walker!" Alex ran to him, catching him in a welcoming embrace.

"Good morning beautiful. Sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Okay everyone; I'd like you to meet Park Rangers Templeton and Frederick. They're going to go with me to apprehend Sydney's attackers. Rangers this is my wife Alex, my partner Trivette, his fiancée Erica, Ranger Gage and Ranger Sydney Cooke."

"Nice to meet you folks, I'm sorry it had to be under such unfortunate circumstances." Ranger Templeton spoke, tipping his hat to the group.

"Ma'am." Ranger Frederick addressed Syd. "I'm sorry to hear what those boys put you through. They've been camped here for a while and we haven't had any problems like this before, but I can assure you that we have radioed the local police who will take them into custody as soon as we retrieve them."

"We've also radioed for a medi-chopper to airlift you out of here. Barring any emergency calls it should be here within the hour."

"Thank you." Syd replied, relief evident on her face.

"Okay, so let's go." Walker said to the Park Rangers, and then kissing Alex. "See you later sweetheart."

As the men left the site, Syd bowed her head into her hands and Alex was immediately at her side. "You okay Sydney?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. My head just hurts so much. It's like every movement I make causes a deep spike to be driven further into my brain."

"Its okay hon - you heard the Park Rangers – the helicopter will be here soon and they'll take you to the hospital and get you all checked out. They probably be able to give you pain meds too, once they can monitor your brain activity."

"Thank you Alex, you have been a really good friend and caregiver."

"I think there is someone else here who would like nothing more than to be your caregiver." Alex spoke softly, knowing that she was treading on treacherous ground with this one and unsure how her friend would react.

Syd looked wistfully at Gage who was slinging the food bag back up in the tree. "I know. But I just can't Alex...I'm not sure..."

"Okay Sydney, but words of advice from one friend to another. Don't wait too long and don't keep everything inside. I know you're scared but if you two don't talk this out soon you may lose your chance."

Syd nodded, afraid to speak. All that Alex said was true. How could her friend know her better than she knew herself? In the back of her mind Syd had this vague notion that she had finally told Gage that she loved him and that he had responded by telling her he loved her too. She shook her head, that couldn't have happened – when could that have happened? It was just hopeful dreaming on her account – part of what she had imagined to help her get through the misery that those men had put her through. Sure Gage cared for her as a close friend and she knew that there was even some element of lust there too but love? No - how could Francis Gage, with all the beautiful women in the world who had thrown themselves at him, love her?

What if she told him that she loved him and he laughed at her? She'd teased him he might think it was just another of her jokes. What if she gave in to his carnal desires for her, and admittedly hers for him, and the next morning he lost all interest in her? She couldn't stand that! Wasn't it better to keep things as they were? They had a strong partnership; she could trust him with her life, and a good friendship. If baring her emotions could jeopardize that, why risk it? That's why she had never said anything before – never even tried to think through these thoughts. Syd put her head back down in her hands, this was just so confusing and she felt out of control. She absolutely hated to feel out of control.

Syd's bewildered state of mind was soon interrupted by the sound of an approaching helicopter. Gage and Trivette went and stood near the edge of the site, waving the chopper down madly. It was a tight fit but there was a large enough patch of flat ground for it to land. As soon as the blades slowed down two paramedics hopped down and jogged to where the group was gathered.

"Ranger Cooke?" The female paramedic inquired of Syd, seeing the pale woman sitting by the fire with her right ankle raised.

"That's me." Syd smiled up her.

"Ready to get out of here?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Can you walk or would you like a stretcher?"

Trivette, Erica, Gage and Alex all looked at one another; they knew the answer before Syd spoke. "I'll walk." Syd replied, pride lacing the simple words.

"Bye sweetie, we'll see you soon okay?" Alex leaned over and gave Syd a hug as she stood up.

"Real soon." Erica added.

"Don't worry about anything Sydney; we've got it under control." Trivette added, also leaning in to give Syd a quick hug.

"The last time I heard that you guys blew up Walker's wedding tuxes." Syd smiled at him.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Jimmy cried mock outrage plastered on his face. "That was Gage! Remember it was my car that blew up along with the tuxes!"

The last one left Gage approached his partner awkwardly, speaking to her for the first time that morning.

"I'll drive your car back to the city Syd." He was looking at his partner but not really meeting her eyes. "That is, if you don't mind. I do promise not to blow it up."

"Thank you Gage - I'd appreciate that." Syd's voice was soft, her gaze equally as distant.

"Hey." He mustered up a wry smile for her. "What're partners for?"

Then, unable to help himself and willing to face the repercussions, he leaned forward and kissed Syd lightly on the forehead. Then without looking to see what her reaction was he turned and walked away, busying himself immediately with the striking of her tent.

If he had turned to look though he would have seen that Syd's eyes never left him as she was led to the chopper, her fingers reaching up to touch the spot that he had kissed as the helicopter door slid shut and the paramedics strapped their passenger into her seat.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

More than a week went by before Syd was released from the hospital in El Paso, the closest city with a medical facility.

Walker had helped the Park Rangers secure the three criminals, who were still tied to the tree where he and Trivette had left them, and then he had returned to the campsite and with the rest of the group carried down their equipment and sombrely headed home early from their trip.

The couple split up from their original pairings. Alex and Erica drove home immediately because Alex was now anxious to see little Angela whom they had left in the care of her father. Walker and Trivette drove straight to El Paso to speak with local law officials about the arrests of the three men and the charges to be laid against them.

Gage drove to El Paso too, driving Syd's vehicle. He hung about while the senior Rangers explained the details of the situation to the El Paso Police, offering what he knew about the situation when necessary. The Rangers then all drove to the hospital to check on their fallen comrade.

Syd was in surgery when they got there; the doctors hoping to correct some the damage to her ankle that had been done before Walker had stabilized it with the splint. In fact, Syd's ankle had not been broken as Walker had thought; rather she had torn several ligaments. The doctor informed them that Ranger Cooke's head injury was not serious and that she would make a full recovery, and he was optimistic that with intensive therapy she would regain partial, if not full, use of her ankle again.

The news wasn't as good as they hoped, each knowing how important Syd's job as a Texas Ranger was to her. If she couldn't walk properly or defend herself with the martial arts moves that were so critical to the job, well...they tried not to think about that outcome.

When Syd was moved to a private room after time in recovery, the Rangers were allowed in to see her but only briefly.

"Hey Sydney? How are you feeling?" Trivette asked.

"I'm not feeling much of anything right now; I think I'm pretty doped up on pain medication." Syd replied, so pleased to see her colleagues. "Where are Alex and Erica?"

"They send their love." Walker replied, giving Sydney a brief hug. "They headed straight back to Dallas; Alex was anxious to see Angela but I promised her I would call her as soon as I saw you."

"I understand. Any idea how long I'm going to be in here?"

"Your doctor said about a week and then you'll need daily therapy once you get home. But the surgery went well, you should be pleased."

"I am. I met with Dr. Handford before the surgery and I liked him – he really seemed to know what he was doing. I know they did their best and now the rest will be up to me."

"You'll be up and walking before you know it." Trivette cheered Syd on – she would need all their support to make a full recovery.

"Well, I'm going to call Alex and let her know that you're fine. See you late Sydney."

"And I better go call Erica if I don't want hear about how Walker is so much more considerate than I am. We'll call you soon okay Sydney? You hang in there."

Gage had hung back the entire time the Senior Rangers were fussing over Syd. He wasn't even sure if Syd knew that he was there, but when he looked up at her after they had left it was obvious that she did.

"Hi Gage."

"Hey Syd."

"You wanna sit down or something?"

"No...no...I should go soon too. You're tired and it's a long drive back to Dallas."

"Oh...okay...Gage?"

"Yeah Syd?"

"Could you give me a hug please?"

In less than two steps Gage was at her side, leaning down, enveloping her in his strong arms. Before Syd knew what was happening she could feel that her partner was shaking as he held her, squeezing her so tight that she could hardly breathe.

"Gage...Gage!" Syd tried to get him to loosen his grip on her, realizing as he pulled back that he was crying. "Oh my god Gage...what's wrong? Do you know something I don't know? Am I dying?"

He shook his head, wiping the tears away. He embraced her again, he just couldn't look at her when he did this – if she rejected him...he'd rather not see it.

"You scared me Syd. This whole thing scared me. When we came back to the campsite and you were gone...and then we found those brutes and heard all the things they said they were going to do to you...Syd, I love you and if anything ever happened to you I just don't know how I could live. Please tell me that you feel the same Syd, please?"

Syd sat motionless in Gage's arms. He just told her than he loved her – no dream this time. Gage – her wonderful, amazing partner actually loved HER! But now he wants me to say it back to him? Oh my God, I'm not ready for this. I'm not ready to admit that to myself – I can't tell him. I know it's what he wants to hear but I just can't.

"Gage..." Syd began. "Gage... it's not that I don't...it's just that I...well, you're my partner. Oh course I care about you."

Gage sat back, releasing Syd from his embrace. "Why can't you just say it?"

"Say what?" She played dumb; she knew what he meant but was stalling for time.

"That you love me?"

Syd looked away. "I don't know."

"I know why. You're an emotionless person Sydney Cooke!" Gage stood up, frustration manifesting itself as anger. "You can't tell me that you love me because you don't know how to recognize love even when it's right in front of you! You wonder why you haven't gone on a date in months or why no guy you meet wants to stick around. It's not because you're a Texas Ranger Syd! It's because you have absolutely no idea of the emotional involvement that is required for a relationship!"

"And you know so much about relationships? Maybe I can't say it because it just isn't true!" Syd struck back at Gage, her hurtful words easing the pain he had caused her with his. "Go home Gage – go home to Dallas with all the pretty cheerleaders to ogle at and when you and I see each other don't you ever say those things to me again!"

"Fine!" Gage turned on his heel and stormed out her hospital room, out of the city of El Paso and out of Sydney Cooke's life.

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When it came time for Syd to be released from the hospital Alex, still off work on maternity leave, drove down with Angela. Syd's week of recovery in the hospital had gone well and her doctors there had liaised with ones in Dallas, securing Syd a physiotherapy position at Dallas's leading Sports Medicine Clinic.

The women talked a bit about the scenery in El Paso and about baby Angela but soon the conversation turned to work.

"So how is Walker? And Trivette?"

"Good, they're both busy with a new case. Ramirez Valquez is back out and word on the streets is that he is into illegal arms deals again. They've got Gage working undercover, infiltrating the organization."

"Gage is working undercover for Valquez!?" Syd could hear her heart thumping. "That's so dangerous – I can't believe that Walker gave him that assignment! Why would he want Gage to..."

"He asked for it Sydney." Alex spoke quietly.

"He...he...asked for it?"

"Yes. Look Sydney, I know it's none of my business but what happened between you two? He came back from seeing you here and Walker says he practically begged for this assignment."

"He told me he loved me Alex. He told me he loved me and he asked me to say it back and I couldn't. I just wasn't ready to do it and I wanted him to understand, to give me time, but he got angry and he said some...well, unpleasant but probably justified things to me. I shouted back and told him to go back to Dallas and to never talk to me about it again."

"Oh Sydney..."

Syd's fists were clenched so tightly her knuckles were turning white. "I spent all week thinking about what he said and how I really feel and I've been working up the courage to talk to him hoping that once I was back he would have calmed down. But now he's gone and put himself in such a stupid, dangerous position and ... I just don't know Alex."

"I'm sorry Sydney." Alex didn't know what else to say.

"You know what Alex? I do love him – he means more to me than anybody else in the entire world. I think it boils down to the fact that I just didn't expect to find love this way. I thought that I would recognize love from the moment I felt it, but I didn't. My love for Gage grew out of our friendship and was strengthened by our intense working partnership. It seems to have come so unexpectedly and yet so...naturally. You were right before - I was afraid to let him know, afraid to give that part of myself away and admit that I need him. I can't imagine life without him Alex."

Syd's voice was almost shrill by the end of her tirade and just as Alex thought that the Ranger was nearing the point of hysteria, Angela began wailing and her cries brought Syd back to Earth. Turning around in her seat Syd reached out an arm and tickled Angela's toes as she kicked them in the car-seat.

"Hey sweet little girl, I'm sorry – I didn't mean to upset you. I was just doing some girl talk – all over a man. Can you imagine Angela – one of those big, hairy guys like your Daddy? That's right...and I was getting all upset. You are so lucky that you have years ahead of you before you have to start worrying about boys."

Angela cooed and gurgled with Syd's attention and Alex smiled. "Years and years and years and years ahead of her, if her Daddy and I have anything to say about it."

Syd laughed - a real laugh. It felt good to be going home even if the homecoming she had planned in her mind wasn't going to happen. She tried to put the image of Gage, undercover and possibly in trouble, out of her mind and although she was for the most part successful, a tiny portion of her brain was fixated on the man she hoped would still want to hear that she loved him.

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The healing of Syd's ankle was a long and tedious process but Syd dedicated herself to the task. After a week back in Dallas she was able to get around with crutches, three weeks later she was using a cane. Unable to drive Syd took to the bus to her daily appointments at the Sports Clinic.

She had found herself going stir crazy not working so Walker had Syd assigned part-time to home duty. It was pretty boring, some clerical work and data entry but every so often she was able to do criminal background checks using her home computer which Trivette had linked to the main Texas Ranger system. The work kept her mind in tune and ready for when she was able to resume active duty.

Syd was confident that that time was not far off. It was almost Thanksgiving now; it had been five weeks since the trip into the mountains. Five weeks since she and Gage had shared that passionate kiss in her tent; five weeks since they'd had that horrible argument. Five weeks since she had seen him.

Gage. No-one at Texas Ranger Headquarters had heard from him in over two weeks but he had been spotted in the company of Valquez and his elite group of comrades. There was no doubt that he had managed to successfully infiltrate the inner sanctum; they now held their breath waiting for him to let them know about the crime lord's next big purchase.

Before that contact had been made though, Syd was required to return to El Paso, as were Walker and Trivette, to testify against the three men who had so brutally attacked and abused her. The District Attorney in El Paso County was a former colleague of Alex's and Syd felt confident that it would be a 'good trial'. Still, it was unnerving to have to go there and stand in front of the court, facing those men again, and describe in detail how they had touched her.

As she stood outside the courtroom straightening her hair and smoothing her skirt and waiting for Alex to return from the ladies, she looked across the hallway and found herself staring straight at Gage. His hair was slicked back; he had grown a goatee and was wearing some ridiculous assortment of chains around his neck. Having made her eye contact Gage started down the hall past his partner, standing there with her mouth almost hanging open and her hand gripping her cane. As he approached her he casually pulled out a package of cigarettes which carelessly flew out of his hand where they landed at Syd's feet.

Without thinking Syd bent down to pick up the package just as Gage bent down too. Their hands met as they both picked up the cigarettes, and Gage squeezed Syd's fingers for a moment setting off the same electric charge that they had felt that night in the tent.

"Sorry ma'am. Didn't mean to disturb you." He spoke in a slow Texas drawl as they stood up.

"Oh...that's alright." It was hard to control the tremble in her voice.

"Hope you don't mind me saying - you look kinda of stressed out ma'am. I always find that a cigarette calms me down. Would you like one?"

Gage pushed forward a cigarette from the package and offered it to Syd.

"Well, I don't usually smoke but maybe today I'll make an exception." Syd took the proffered gift. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He smiled at her. "I'm sure that things will be all right in there for you. Sure hate to see such a pretty lady looking so worried."

"Are you coming in to watch this trial?" Syd asked, hope lighting her eyes.

"Nope, I was just here doing some paperwork for a friend and I've gotta split now. Sure do hope I see you around again though." And then he was gone - out the doors of the courthouse just as Alex returned.

"Sydney – are you alright?" her friend asked, noticing how flushed Syd was.

"Yeah...I'm fine Alex...I just met this very handsome stranger who gave me a cigarette to calm my nerves."

"You don't smoke! That must have been some handsome stranger!"

"Yeah, it was." Syd sighed, despite herself. "I'll umm...I'll tell you about him later. Listen, they're calling us now."

Carefully putting the cigarette in her purse, Syd strode forward with Alex at her side and entered the courtroom more relaxed than she ever thought she'd be for the challenge ahead of her.

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As anticipated the trial was a success. All three men were convicted of aggravated sexual assault, unlawful confinement and three counts of assaulting a member of Texas law enforcement. They were each sentenced to three years at a maximum security prison with no chance of parole.

When the group left the courthouse they piled into Walker's large truck, jubilant over the results. Syd had a hard time getting anyone to listen to her but she finally shouted.

"Stop! I want to tell everyone about the handsome stranger I met today!"

The group hushed immediately, all eyes turned on Syd. It was the most animated anyone had seen her in weeks.

"He had dirty-blonde hair and blue eyes and he gave me this cigarette." As she spoke Syd unrolled the paper from the cigarette and revealed the writing on the inside.

"Gage!" Walker exclaimed as he read the address printed there. "This is where the arms deal is going to go down."

"Tomorrow night!" Trivette exclaimed. "I knew we could count on Gage. Let's get back to Dallas."

"No wonder you were so flushed when I returned from the ladies room!" Alex smiled at Syd across the backseat and gave her a hug before they buckled their seatbelts.

"How'd he look Sydney?" Walker asked as he pulled the car out of the parking lot and towards the main highway.

"Fine, he seemed in pretty good spirits. Do you think it was wise of him to have contacted us this way? He won't have blown his cover will he?"

"I hope not. I don't think he would have taken such a risk in Dallas but we are pretty far away from Valquez's circle of influence, he must have felt it was safe."

"I think he wanted to make sure I was okay for this trial too." Syd added quietly as she looked out the window at the passing Texas countryside. "I just hope he knows what he's doing."

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Syd was on pins and needles the next evening as Walker and Trivette readied themselves and a team of Rangers to bust open Valquez's illegal arms smuggling racquet. The hardest part was that she wanted to be out in the field with them instead of watching the surveillance cameras.

Syd was thankful at least that Walker had convinced Captain Brisco to let her come into the office to watch; at least here she felt a little part of the team. She couldn't help but wonder if her partner was alright. Having seen him yesterday, talked to him, touched his hand – it was like he was suddenly real again. In the last five weeks, though he had often been on her mind, Gage had begun to seem like someone she once knew in a long ago life. Their encounter at the courthouse though had brought all the memories flooding back and she was suddenly intensely nervous about seeing him again.

Syd's attention was drawn back to the TV screen. She could see the group of Rangers circling the warehouse and she tensed as they tensed, ready to break down the door. And suddenly Walker and Trivette were making their move. The doors flung open and there was a pandemonium of gunfire. Syd looked frantically for Gage in the melee but couldn't see him.

The takedown was over in a matter of minutes; Valquez and his men had been poorly prepared for an attack. Syd watched as Walker led Valquez away in cuffs while Trivette and the other Rangers each escorted another of the criminals to the waiting police cars. There was still no sign of Gage and Syd tried to control the rising panic she felt as she realized that there were three bodies on the floor of the warehouse.

Frustrated and worried Syd picked up the nearest object, which happened to be Walker's coffee mug, and threw it across the room where it smashed into a million pieces.

"I don't think Walker's going to like what you did to his favourite mug Syd."

Syd whirled around and stared in disbelief. "Gage?"

"Hi Syd." Such simple words, how did they make his heart melt?

"Gage – you're okay." It was a statement, not a question.

"Can I be the one to ask for a hug this time?" He stood there, his arms open slightly. She looked wonderful to him, he had been longing to see her, longing to touch her for so long now.

Syd just nodded in return, frozen to the spot where she stood. He walked slowly towards her, their eyes caught in an unfaltering gaze. When he got close enough Syd reached out and touched his face, just to make sure that he was real. And then she took both her hands and pushed him in the chest, hard.

"Ow...what was that for?" Gage cried, clutching at his chest in surprise.

"Don't you ever do that to me again Francis Gage! I thought you were dead. I saw the bodies on the screen and I thought..." Syd couldn't stop the tears that had been welling up inside her any longer. She collapsed against Gage's chest, pounding on it with all her might. "What were you thinking taking such a dangerous assignment? You could have been killed!"

Gage wrapped his arms around his partner, savouring how good it felt to hold her again. These past weeks had been torture. The moment he had gone undercover he wished he hadn't been so hasty in begging Walker to give him this assignment. He had come back from El Paso so wound up about the mess that he had made of his relationship with Syd that he tried to use work as an escape.

He pulled back from Syd and wiped her tears away with his thumbs.

"No more crying Syd, I'm fine. See? No bullet holes, no blood."

Syd sniffled. "Well good, because I really didn't want to have to break in a new partner."

"Gosh, it's good to see you Syd." Gage looked at her, adoration in his eyes.

"How did you get away from Valquez? How come you weren't at the warehouse?"

"Valquez sent me out to watch the back of the warehouse for police. Instead of doing that I just took off and came here. I was hoping I'd find you here."

"The takedown went well; I saw Walker and Trivette arrest Valquez and take away most of the men."

"That's good. How did things go at the trial yesterday?"

Syd reached around and grabbed a tissue from her desk, blowing her nose lightly as she turned around.

"Good – they each got three years."

His face sobered. "I'm sorry I wasn't there with you."

Syd stiffened. "I was fine Gage; I can do things on my own – I don't need you there to protect me."

Gage sighed. "Syd, I am not going to get into an argument over this. I just want you to think about one thing – it isn't all about you. Did it ever occur to you that I just might have needed to be there?"

Syd stared at him in wonder. It was true, she hadn't really thought about her partner in all of this. If the roles were reversed would she have felt the need to be there at his side? Yes was the resounding answer. She looked down, suddenly shy. Where was big, tough, strong, independent Sydney Cooke now?

"I'm sorry Gage. I...I...I'm sorry about a lot of things." She looked up. "About what happened in El Paso...I'm so sorry that I hurt you...that was the last thing I wanted to do."

"Syd." Gage reached up and tenderly caressed her cheek with the backs of his fingers. "I'm sorry about those things I said about you in El Paso too, I was hurt and I was frustrated but I shouldn't have taken it out on you. You need to know something though Syd – I do love you. I love you with every fibre of my being and I know that you are the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. If I have to wait forever for you to be ready, I will. I am not going to mention this again and we can go back to being partners and friends, but please just remember that underneath it all I love you."

A silent tear trickled down Syd's cheek and she was biting her lip. Okay Syd, here's the moment of truth – this is what you have been waiting for. Go for it.

"I don't think that would be very fair of me to ask you to wait forever."

"Syd, please don't try to talk me out of this."

"No...no...I just mean that, well...the thing is Gage, I do love you too."

He stared at her in amazement, a slow grin making its way across his face as she rambled on.

"I should have told you before but I was just so scared...I thought that if I loved you I'd be losing some part of me...and I..."

Gage didn't wait any longer. Placing both hands on her cheeks he leaned forward and captured her lips with his, hungrily assaulting her with all the pent up love and passion from the past five weeks, from the last few years. Syd responded in kind, her hands tangling in his hair.

Finally the couple broke apart, lips swollen and their heads resting on one another's foreheads.

"Is this for real?" Gage asked, his hands running up and down her shoulders.

"I think so." Syd stood up straight and took her partner's hand. "Gage...you want to go home?"

"Yeah."

Syd reached for her cane, and with one hand on it and the other securely in Gage's she led them out the door of Company B.

"You know Syd I won't tell Walker what happened to his coffee mug if you don't."

"You better not!" Letting go of his hand she punched him affectionately in the arm. "Can you do me another favour too please?"

"Anything Syd."

"That goatee has to go."

Gage started laughing and leaned over to kiss her swiftly on the lips. Then, capturing her hand again he grinned as they stepped into the elevator. "Sure...though I did think it made me look a bit distinguished."

"Distinguished? Uh...no." Syd replied, returning his grin with one of her own which was equally as dazzling. "And besides, once you get rid of those chains the goatee will look really out of place."

"My chains? Oh, not the chains Syd. These are cool."

"They are?"

"Yeah, all the guys on the street are wearing them."

"Are any of them going home with me?"

"Well...no."

"I rest my case."

"You drive a hard bargain Syd."

"I think you'll find that I am worth it."

"Oh Syd." Gage replied, kissing her again. "I know you are."


	6. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Thanksgiving morning was bright and sunny. Syd woke up in Gage's arms, a smile as warm as the morning creeping across her face.

They had been practically inseparable for the past two days. They had driven to Gage's place the night of the takedown and had finally, wonderfully, given in to the passion that had for so long been building between them.

And to Syd's infinite relief, things were still fine between them the next day.

What she had feared so long – that she would be vulnerable, that he would be overprotective – they just weren't true. If anything she felt stronger, more satisfied, fulfilled with Gage at her side as her friend, her partner, her lover. Who knew that life could feel so complete?

Gage had gone in to work on Friday to meet with Walker, Trivette and Captain Brisco and fill them in on all that he had learned while undercover and all that had happened the previous evening, leaving out of course what had transpired between him and his partner.

Despite Walker's blessing of the relationship while on their trip, Gage wasn't ready to tell the world yet. What he and Syd had shared last night was so beautiful, so awe-inspiring that he was afraid if he talked about it the dream bubble might pop.

Besides, Syd would probably slug him if she found out he was blabbing their private news to everyone.

That night he had gone to Syd's home and they had made love again, over and over until they were completely satiated, sleeping peacefully in each other's arms.

They had spent Saturday together doing simple things like restocking Gage's fridge which had been unused the whole time he was undercover, going for a walk in the park, Syd showing Gage the physiotherapy exercises she needed to do each day to strengthen her ankle. And then that night they fallen in bed together again, still high from the exhilaration that the words "I love you" gave them every time one of them said it.

Sunday morning, today, was going to be significant. They had been invited to church to witness the christening of little Angela Walker, followed by Thanksgiving dinner out at the Walker ranch. After talking about it Syd and Gage decided it would be best to be open and honest with their friends and appear at these events together, ready to tell the world how they felt about one another.

When they arrived in Gage's car at the small, white country church that Walker and Alex attended Syd though became visibly nervous. Gage reached over in the car and took Syd's trembling hands in his own.

"It's going to be alright Syd. They are our friends, our family. They'll be happy for us."

"I know but I can't do it Gage, I'm not ready."

"Okay." A look of disappointment flickered across Gage's eyes but then it was gone. "I respect that, this is a big adjustment. We'll just walk in there together as we always did when we were just partners."

Syd nodded, visibly relieved. "Thank you."

Gage got out of the car and walked around to Syd's side, opening the passenger door and helping her out, grabbing her cane from the back seat.

They walked into the church together, more or less side by side with Syd always one step ahead. They were greeted affectionately by Walker and Alex who were standing near the door holding Angela in a beautiful white gown. Trivette and Erica, who were to be named Angela's godparents, were right behind them with equally enthusiastic greetings. For the senior Rangers and their significant others it was so wonderful to see Syd walking again and Gage back from his undercover stint.

Sydney and Gage took a seat in one of the pews near the front of the church, sharing greetings with some of the other Rangers that they knew or friends of the Walkers they had met on other occasions.

The service was simple and beautiful, matching the understated elegance of the small church. When the congregation was asked to stand during the actual christening, Gage felt Syd's hand slowly make its way into his own and he smiled, squeezing her fingers affectionately to let her know how much he loved her.

She didn't let go of his hand for the rest of the ceremony and proudly walked exactly side by side with her partner as they exited the church. Their clasped hands did not go unnoticed by Erica who immediately pointed it out to her fiancé.

"Looks like you were right." Jimmy smiled.

"Mmm hmm." Erica was pleased with herself and thrilled at the sight of the two young Rangers so clearly in love. They were each practically glowing.

At the Walker ranch later that day the new relationship between Syd and Gage was very obvious and their friends, who had known for a long time that this was meant to be, took it all in stride. No-one said anything about it, acting casually as if Syd and Gage holding hands and cuddling together on the couch was normal. Even Trivette managed to refrain from teasing them.

As they sat around the Thanksgiving table, ready to eat the delicious turkey that Alex had prepared, Walker leaned over to kiss his wife.

"Thank you everyone for being here with us, and for sharing your friendship with us. I think that today I am the happiest man alive with my wife and our beautiful daughter here at my side, in our lovely home surrounded by some of the best people we have ever known."

"I don't know Walker – I'm a pretty happy man myself." Trivette called out, leaning over to kiss Erica rather passionately. The small group at the table cheered.

"I don't know why you men think that you can lay claim to all the happiness." Syd challenged as the laughter died down. "On behalf of all the women here I'd like to show you what real happiness is."

Syd reached up and kissed Gage full on the lips, finally ready to admit in front of all their friends what she had taken her so long to admit to herself.

"Gage." She whispered as they broke apart. "I love you."

"I love you too Syd." Gage smiled down at her and then, unabashed joy shining in his eyes, looked out at the faces of his grinning comrades and said. "Let's just say that everyone here has something to be thankful for."

"Amen!" someone called.

"Now let's eat!" Walker, Trivette and Gage all called out at the same time, each of them earning a swift elbow to the ribs from the women sitting beside them.

**THE END**


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